If a soap were set in a (small by "down South" standards) town in Alaska, I would be the star.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Once More, With Twang!

I've had the good fortune of becoming acquainted with a lot of wonderful people. A more recent addition to the greater circle of friends is Miss EH. Miss EH is dating a member of the Great Alaska Bluegrass Band (GABB) formerly known as Bluegrass 101. They recently moved into a new place, a spot in a really nice set of apartments, full of fantastic people. I was invited to the housewarming party.

I didn't know too many people in attendance, but that ceased to matter when the instruments came out. What started as two men with guitars eventually became a group of musicians with guitars, a mandolin, a banjo, a fiddle, a small case of harmonicas and some twangy vocals. I found myself sitting between some local celebrities listening to some improvised bluegrass and folk playing. Too my left was Sean Tracy, Juneau's king of honky tonk. To my right was Jeremy "JR" Kane of GABB. Sean had with him a wondrous case of harmonicas, the case itself covered in stickers representing an array of bands, some local, some now defunct. I had to pay more attention to the man to my right, however, if only to avoid getting a face full of banjo. I wasn't really terribly concerned and I was promised that all necessary care would be taken to avoid such a tragedy. My response: "What do you even say if you lose teeth in a banjo accident?" His response: "You make something else up."

Though the music was enjoyable and the company, though unfamiliar, was pleasant, I left the party to head downtown. Perhaps I should have stayed (see the awkward post)?